The Shanghai International Film Festival unveiled the competition selection for its upcoming 26th edition Wednesday, featuring a lineup characteristically heavy on Chinese titles. As in recent years, the lineup also includes a bevy of European, Japanese and Central Asian movies, but not a single film from the U.S. or South Korea.
The most anticipated film from the festival’s 14-title main competition in 2024 is undoubtedly Chinese director Guan Hu’s drama A Man and a Woman, featuring a pair of lead performances from the big local stars Huang Bo and Ni Ni. Guan wowed critics at the Cannes Film Festival just a week ago with his darkly comic thriller Black Dog, which took home the French festival’s prestigious Un Certain Regard prize. Guan also is no stranger to the Shanghai festival. His WWII tentpole The Eight Hundred was scheduled to open the 2019 edition of the event, but it...
The most anticipated film from the festival’s 14-title main competition in 2024 is undoubtedly Chinese director Guan Hu’s drama A Man and a Woman, featuring a pair of lead performances from the big local stars Huang Bo and Ni Ni. Guan wowed critics at the Cannes Film Festival just a week ago with his darkly comic thriller Black Dog, which took home the French festival’s prestigious Un Certain Regard prize. Guan also is no stranger to the Shanghai festival. His WWII tentpole The Eight Hundred was scheduled to open the 2019 edition of the event, but it...
- 5/30/2024
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Picturehouse Entertainment has made its first animation pickup, acquiring UK-Ireland distribution rights to Sylvain Chomet’s The Magnificent Life Of Marcel Pagnol.
The Magnificent Life Of Marcel Pagnol follows the life of Pagnol, a playwright, novelist and filmmaker who became one of the world’s most inventive and prolific artists in the mid-20th century.
The film is currently in production ahead of completion in 2025. It is produced by Ashargin Poire and Valerie Puech for What the Prod. Co-producers are Lilian Eche’s Bidibul Productions, Adrian Politowski’s Align and Aton Soumache for On Classics (Mediawan Kids & Family), in...
The Magnificent Life Of Marcel Pagnol follows the life of Pagnol, a playwright, novelist and filmmaker who became one of the world’s most inventive and prolific artists in the mid-20th century.
The film is currently in production ahead of completion in 2025. It is produced by Ashargin Poire and Valerie Puech for What the Prod. Co-producers are Lilian Eche’s Bidibul Productions, Adrian Politowski’s Align and Aton Soumache for On Classics (Mediawan Kids & Family), in...
- 5/20/2024
- ScreenDaily
After four Oscar wins for “All Quiet on the Western Front” last year and the Oscar nomination for “The Teachers’ Lounge” this year, Germany’s film sector seemed to be on the up, but while a government plan to revamp the country’s film funding system is broadly welcomed, its painfully slow progress is also causing some anxiety.
The fact that Cannes’ various sections contain not one feature by a German filmmaker may be seen as a cause for concern, but 13 German productions and co-productions have been selected. This underscores how Germany’s current funding structures nurture co-productions, which in turn benefits local producers. For example, both Karim Aïnouz’s “Motel Destino” and Miguel Gomes’ “Grand Tour” in the Competition section have Germany’s Match Factory Productions as a co-producer.
The Berlinale was a better showcase for German talent, with Matthias Glasner picking up the screenplay award for “Dying,” and...
The fact that Cannes’ various sections contain not one feature by a German filmmaker may be seen as a cause for concern, but 13 German productions and co-productions have been selected. This underscores how Germany’s current funding structures nurture co-productions, which in turn benefits local producers. For example, both Karim Aïnouz’s “Motel Destino” and Miguel Gomes’ “Grand Tour” in the Competition section have Germany’s Match Factory Productions as a co-producer.
The Berlinale was a better showcase for German talent, with Matthias Glasner picking up the screenplay award for “Dying,” and...
- 5/15/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Steven Soderbergh’s Sundance title ‘Presence’ acquired for UK-Ireland theatrical release (exclusive)
Picturehouse Entertainment has acquired UK-Ireland distribution rights to Steven Soderbergh’s Presence, following its world premiere at Sundance in January.
The film stars Lucy Liu, Julia Fox and Chris Sullivan, in the story of a family who moves into a suburban house and becomes convinced that they’re not alone. Neon International handles worldwide sales.
Presence was written by David Koepp, and produced by Julie M. Anderson and Ken Meyer.
The latest buy from Picturehouse’s revamped acquisitions team, it joins a slate that includes Alonso Ruizpalacios’ La Cocina, Matthias Glasner’s Dying and Andreas Dresen’s From Hilde, With Love.
The film stars Lucy Liu, Julia Fox and Chris Sullivan, in the story of a family who moves into a suburban house and becomes convinced that they’re not alone. Neon International handles worldwide sales.
Presence was written by David Koepp, and produced by Julie M. Anderson and Ken Meyer.
The latest buy from Picturehouse’s revamped acquisitions team, it joins a slate that includes Alonso Ruizpalacios’ La Cocina, Matthias Glasner’s Dying and Andreas Dresen’s From Hilde, With Love.
- 5/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
Sydney Film Festival (June 5-16) has unveiled the 12 titles that will play in competition at its 71st edition, including six features that are set to premiere at Cannes this month.
Fresh from playing in Competition at Cannes will be Kinds of Kindness, starring Emma Stone and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, who won the Sydney Film Prize in 2012 with Alps. Further Palme d’Or contenders selected for Sydney include Grand Tour from Portugal’s Miguel Gomes, whose Arabian Nights won the Sydney Film Prize in 2015; Christophe Honoré’s French-Italian comedy Marcello Mio; and Payal Kapadia’s Indian romantic drama All We Imagine As Light.
Fresh from playing in Competition at Cannes will be Kinds of Kindness, starring Emma Stone and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, who won the Sydney Film Prize in 2012 with Alps. Further Palme d’Or contenders selected for Sydney include Grand Tour from Portugal’s Miguel Gomes, whose Arabian Nights won the Sydney Film Prize in 2015; Christophe Honoré’s French-Italian comedy Marcello Mio; and Payal Kapadia’s Indian romantic drama All We Imagine As Light.
- 5/7/2024
- ScreenDaily
Roschdy Zem, Sandrine Kiberlain and Elodie Bouchez have signed to star in Unchained, a prison-set dance feature to be directed by France’s Valerie Muller and choreographed by Angelin Preljocaj. Le Pacte is handling international sales.
Muller and Preljocaj previously collaborated on 2016 ballet drama Polina that screened in Venice’s Giornate degli Autori.
Zem will play an international renowned choreographer who launches a dance workshop in prison and guides inmates to break free of the chains binding them through dance as they seek redemption among their families outside the prison walls.
Unchained is being produced by Nicolas Mauvernay’s Mizar Films.
Muller and Preljocaj previously collaborated on 2016 ballet drama Polina that screened in Venice’s Giornate degli Autori.
Zem will play an international renowned choreographer who launches a dance workshop in prison and guides inmates to break free of the chains binding them through dance as they seek redemption among their families outside the prison walls.
Unchained is being produced by Nicolas Mauvernay’s Mizar Films.
- 5/7/2024
- ScreenDaily
Matthias Glasner’s Dying was the winner of the top prize at this year’s German Film Awards, clinching the Golden Lola in the best film category along with a cash prize of €500,000 for the producers to invest in a future project.
The production by Port au Prince Film & Kultur Produktion, Schwarzweiß Filmproduktion and Senator Film Produktion, which had its world premiere in competition at this year’s Berlinale where it won the best screenplay Silver Bear, also garnered another three statuettes: Corinna Harfouch (best lead actress), Hans-Uwe Bauer (best supporting actor), and Lorenz Dangel (best film score).
Glasner’s family drama,...
The production by Port au Prince Film & Kultur Produktion, Schwarzweiß Filmproduktion and Senator Film Produktion, which had its world premiere in competition at this year’s Berlinale where it won the best screenplay Silver Bear, also garnered another three statuettes: Corinna Harfouch (best lead actress), Hans-Uwe Bauer (best supporting actor), and Lorenz Dangel (best film score).
Glasner’s family drama,...
- 5/6/2024
- ScreenDaily
Matthias Glasner’s epic dysfunctional family drama Dying has won the top prize for best film at the 2024 German Film Awards, the Lolas.
Dying was one of the critical favorites at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, where Glasner won the Silver Bear for best screenplay. The film stars Lars Eidinger as a classical conductor with an extremely dysfunctional family.
In addition to the top prize, Corinna Harfoch won the best actress Lola for her role in Dying, where she plays Eidinger’s sharp-tonged and cold-hearted mother. Her Dying co-star Hans-Uwe Bauer took best supporting actor, and the film also took the Lola for best film music for composer Lorenz Dangel.
Ayşe Polat took best director and best screenplay for In the Blind Spot, her twisty documentary-style conspiracy thriller set in modern-day Turkey. The film, which premiered in Berlin’s Encounters section last year, won the top prize at the Oldenburg Film Festival,...
Dying was one of the critical favorites at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, where Glasner won the Silver Bear for best screenplay. The film stars Lars Eidinger as a classical conductor with an extremely dysfunctional family.
In addition to the top prize, Corinna Harfoch won the best actress Lola for her role in Dying, where she plays Eidinger’s sharp-tonged and cold-hearted mother. Her Dying co-star Hans-Uwe Bauer took best supporting actor, and the film also took the Lola for best film music for composer Lorenz Dangel.
Ayşe Polat took best director and best screenplay for In the Blind Spot, her twisty documentary-style conspiracy thriller set in modern-day Turkey. The film, which premiered in Berlin’s Encounters section last year, won the top prize at the Oldenburg Film Festival,...
- 5/3/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Matthias Glasner’s Dying leads the Lolas, the German Film Awards, with nine nominations, including for best feature film, director, screenplay, and score.
Additionally, Lars Eidinger has been nominated as best actor and Corinna Harfouch as best actress; Robert Gwisdek and Hans-Uwe Bauer have both been nominated for best supporting actor.
The family drama premiered in competition at the Berlinale last month and will be released in Germany by Wild Bunch on April 25.
The Lolas will take place at a ceremony in Berlin on May 3.
Timm Kröger’s second feature The Universal Theory, which premiered in Venice’s Horizons section last September,...
Additionally, Lars Eidinger has been nominated as best actor and Corinna Harfouch as best actress; Robert Gwisdek and Hans-Uwe Bauer have both been nominated for best supporting actor.
The family drama premiered in competition at the Berlinale last month and will be released in Germany by Wild Bunch on April 25.
The Lolas will take place at a ceremony in Berlin on May 3.
Timm Kröger’s second feature The Universal Theory, which premiered in Venice’s Horizons section last September,...
- 3/19/2024
- ScreenDaily
The German Film Academy has announced the movies in competition this year for the German Film Awards, the local equivalent of the Oscars.
Matthias Glasner’s epic family drama Dying, Timm Kröger’s experimental sci-fi feature The Universal Theory, and In the Blind Spot, Ayşe Polat’s documentary-style conspiracy thriller set in modern-day Turkey, are among the favorites for this year’s awards, called the Lolas.
Dying, which stars Lars Eidinger as a classical conductor with an extremely dysfunctional family, picked up nominations in every major category, including best film, best director and best screenplay nominations for Glasner, a best actor nom for Eidinger and a best actress nomination for Corinna Harfoch, who plays Eidinger’s mother. In total, the film is up for nine Lolas.
The Universal Theory, a black-and-white drama about the multiverse, is also in the running for the best film Lola, and Kröger is up for best director.
Matthias Glasner’s epic family drama Dying, Timm Kröger’s experimental sci-fi feature The Universal Theory, and In the Blind Spot, Ayşe Polat’s documentary-style conspiracy thriller set in modern-day Turkey, are among the favorites for this year’s awards, called the Lolas.
Dying, which stars Lars Eidinger as a classical conductor with an extremely dysfunctional family, picked up nominations in every major category, including best film, best director and best screenplay nominations for Glasner, a best actor nom for Eidinger and a best actress nomination for Corinna Harfoch, who plays Eidinger’s mother. In total, the film is up for nine Lolas.
The Universal Theory, a black-and-white drama about the multiverse, is also in the running for the best film Lola, and Kröger is up for best director.
- 3/19/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Picturehouse Entertainment has acquired UK and Ireland rights to Matthias Glasner’s Berlinale Competition Dying from The Match Factory.
The melodrama follows a woman secretly enjoying her husband’s deteriorating health before death knocks on her door as well, causing estranged family members to reconnect.
Corinna Harfouch, Lars Eidinger, Lilith Stangenberg, Ronald Zehrfeld, Robert Gwisdek and Anna Bederke lead the cast.
Dying picked up several prizes in Berlin including the silver bear in best screenplay. It scored a solid 2.8 on Screen’s critics jury grid.
‘Dying’: Berlin Review
The feature is written by Glasner who also produces with Jan Krüger and Ulf Israel.
The melodrama follows a woman secretly enjoying her husband’s deteriorating health before death knocks on her door as well, causing estranged family members to reconnect.
Corinna Harfouch, Lars Eidinger, Lilith Stangenberg, Ronald Zehrfeld, Robert Gwisdek and Anna Bederke lead the cast.
Dying picked up several prizes in Berlin including the silver bear in best screenplay. It scored a solid 2.8 on Screen’s critics jury grid.
‘Dying’: Berlin Review
The feature is written by Glasner who also produces with Jan Krüger and Ulf Israel.
- 3/12/2024
- ScreenDaily
Recommending that someone sits down to a three-hour drama named Dying is not the easiest sell, but Matthias Glasner’s film is a lot more sprightly and funny than it sounds on paper. Death is present but there’s also a hell of a lot of living going in this enjoyably complex, character-driven drama that isn’t afraid to tackle weighty subjects including suicide, addiction and terminal illness. Split into overlapping segments, three of which come from different perspectives of a single family, Glasner puts ideas including love and commitment under the microscope so we can see their intricate layering and contradictions.
Though an ensemble piece, the film largely revolves around orchestra conductor Tom Lunies (Lars Eidinger) - although it’s a while before that will become apparent. First, we meet his mother Lissy (Corinna Harfouch) in the middle of a crushingly awful morning. She is sitting in a mess of her own excrement,...
Though an ensemble piece, the film largely revolves around orchestra conductor Tom Lunies (Lars Eidinger) - although it’s a while before that will become apparent. First, we meet his mother Lissy (Corinna Harfouch) in the middle of a crushingly awful morning. She is sitting in a mess of her own excrement,...
- 2/29/2024
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Writer-director Matthias Glasner’s Dying, a nuanced anatomy of a dysfunctional German family, begins with Lissy (Corinna Harfouch) prostrated on the living room floor covered in feces and unable to move. Meanwhile, her husband, Gerd (Hans-Uwe Bauer), aimlessly parades around their apartment in the buff. Clearly withdrawn from reality, he doesn’t register Lissy’s presence, let alone her distress, as he walks in front of her.
We’ll learn across this poignant and unforgiving saga of the origins and results of lovelessness that this is an average day in the life of the elderly couple. And while it’s easy to read this disturbing opening as a raw portrait of the predicaments of old age, the scene is ultimately understood as the embodiment of an entire family’s sad state of affairs: It always seems as if someone in the Lunies clan is drowning in shit and everyone else is looking the other way.
We’ll learn across this poignant and unforgiving saga of the origins and results of lovelessness that this is an average day in the life of the elderly couple. And while it’s easy to read this disturbing opening as a raw portrait of the predicaments of old age, the scene is ultimately understood as the embodiment of an entire family’s sad state of affairs: It always seems as if someone in the Lunies clan is drowning in shit and everyone else is looking the other way.
- 2/26/2024
- by Diego Semerene
- Slant Magazine
The Match Factory has unveiled multiple distribution deals for its Berlinale competition titles Dying by Matthias Glasner and Architecton by Victor Kossakovsky.
Dying has secured distribution in key territories including France (Bodega Film), Italy (Satine Film), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Norway (Selmer Media As), Poland (Aurora), Cis (Provzglyad), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF MegaCom Film), Hungary (Cirko Films), Greece (Cinobo), Romania (Freealize), Taiwan (Andrews Film), and South Korea (Pancinema). Negotiations for additional territories are underway, with a UK deal already confirmed.
Dying, which stars Lars Eidinger, Lilith Stangenberg and Corinna Harfouch, won the Berlinale’s Silver Bear for best screenplay, along with the...
Dying has secured distribution in key territories including France (Bodega Film), Italy (Satine Film), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Norway (Selmer Media As), Poland (Aurora), Cis (Provzglyad), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF MegaCom Film), Hungary (Cirko Films), Greece (Cinobo), Romania (Freealize), Taiwan (Andrews Film), and South Korea (Pancinema). Negotiations for additional territories are underway, with a UK deal already confirmed.
Dying, which stars Lars Eidinger, Lilith Stangenberg and Corinna Harfouch, won the Berlinale’s Silver Bear for best screenplay, along with the...
- 2/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Match Factory has unveiled multiple distribution deals for its Berlinale competition titles Dying by Matthias Glasner and Architecton by Victor Kossakovsky.
Dying has secured distribution in key territories including France (Bodega Film), Italy (Satine Film), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Norway (Selmer Media As), Poland (Aurora), Cis (Provzglyad), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF MegaCom Film), Hungary (Cirko Films), Greece (Cinobo), Romania (Freealize), Taiwan (Andrews Film), and South Korea (Pancinema). Negotiations for additional territories are underway, with a UK deal already confirmed.
Dying, which stars Lars Eidinger, Lilith Stangenberg and Corinna Harfouch, won the Berlinale’s Silver Bear for best screenplay, along with the...
Dying has secured distribution in key territories including France (Bodega Film), Italy (Satine Film), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Norway (Selmer Media As), Poland (Aurora), Cis (Provzglyad), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF MegaCom Film), Hungary (Cirko Films), Greece (Cinobo), Romania (Freealize), Taiwan (Andrews Film), and South Korea (Pancinema). Negotiations for additional territories are underway, with a UK deal already confirmed.
Dying, which stars Lars Eidinger, Lilith Stangenberg and Corinna Harfouch, won the Berlinale’s Silver Bear for best screenplay, along with the...
- 2/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Match Factory has revealed multiple distribution deals for two Berlinale competition titles: German director Matthias Glasner’s “Dying,” which won the festival’s Silver Bear for best screenplay, and Russian director Victor Kossakovsky’s documentary “Architecton.”
“Dying,” which stars Lars Eidinger, Lilith Stangenberg and Corinna Harfouch, also picked up the Guild of German Arthouse Cinemas and the Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Jury Award. Variety‘s review describes the film as “a profoundly affecting exploration of life and loss.”
The Match Factory closed deals for the film in France (Bodega Film), Italy (Satine Film), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Norway (Selmer Media), Poland (Aurora), Cis (Provzglyad), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF MegaCom Film), Hungary (Cirko Films), Greece (Cinobo), Romania (Freealize), Taiwan (Andrews Film) and South Korea (Pancinema). A U.K. deal has also been signed with the buyer yet to be announced. Wild Bunch will be distributing the film in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland.
“Dying,” which stars Lars Eidinger, Lilith Stangenberg and Corinna Harfouch, also picked up the Guild of German Arthouse Cinemas and the Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Jury Award. Variety‘s review describes the film as “a profoundly affecting exploration of life and loss.”
The Match Factory closed deals for the film in France (Bodega Film), Italy (Satine Film), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Norway (Selmer Media), Poland (Aurora), Cis (Provzglyad), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF MegaCom Film), Hungary (Cirko Films), Greece (Cinobo), Romania (Freealize), Taiwan (Andrews Film) and South Korea (Pancinema). A U.K. deal has also been signed with the buyer yet to be announced. Wild Bunch will be distributing the film in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland.
- 2/26/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The Match Factory has locked multi-territory deals on Berlinale titles Architecton by Victor Kossakovsky and Dying by Matthias Glasner, which picked up the festival’s Silver Bear for Best Screenplay.
Alongside the Silver Bear, Dying also picked up the Guild of German Arthouse Cinemas Prize and the Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Jury Award. The pic has sold to France (Bodega Film), Italy (Satine Film), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Norway (Selmer Media As), Poland (Aurora), Cis (Provzglyad), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF MegaCom Film), Hungary (Cirko Films), Greece (Cinobo), Romania (Freealize), Taiwan (Andrews Film), and South Korea (Pancinema). Match Factory has said negotiations for additional territories are underway, with a UK deal already confirmed. Deadline’s Stephanie Bunbury described the film as a “deep and darkly funny family drama.” The film stars Lars Eidinger, Lilith Stangenberg, and Corinna Harfouch.
Elsewhere, Kossakovsky’s Architecton has sold to me Spain (Caramel Films), Italy (Be Water), Benelux (Cherry Pickers Filmdistributie...
Alongside the Silver Bear, Dying also picked up the Guild of German Arthouse Cinemas Prize and the Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Jury Award. The pic has sold to France (Bodega Film), Italy (Satine Film), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Norway (Selmer Media As), Poland (Aurora), Cis (Provzglyad), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF MegaCom Film), Hungary (Cirko Films), Greece (Cinobo), Romania (Freealize), Taiwan (Andrews Film), and South Korea (Pancinema). Match Factory has said negotiations for additional territories are underway, with a UK deal already confirmed. Deadline’s Stephanie Bunbury described the film as a “deep and darkly funny family drama.” The film stars Lars Eidinger, Lilith Stangenberg, and Corinna Harfouch.
Elsewhere, Kossakovsky’s Architecton has sold to me Spain (Caramel Films), Italy (Be Water), Benelux (Cherry Pickers Filmdistributie...
- 2/26/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Dahomey won the Golden Bear Photo: Les Films Du Bal - Fanta Sy French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop took home the top prize at this year's Berlin Film Festival for her documentary Dahomey. The film considers the return of plundered artefacts to Berlin. It is the second year in a row a documentary has taken the Golden Bear after On The Adamant won last year.
The Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize went to prolific South Korean director Hang Sang-soo for his tale of a French teacher (Isabelle Huppert) navigating a new life, A Traveler's Needs.
Bruno Dumont's spoof that transports a Star Wars-style plot to the French countryside, The Empire, won a Silver Bear, while Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias' experimental hippo drama Pepe won the Best Director prize. Matthias Glasner's Dying, which dives into the heart of a family with an ailing matriarch and patriarch, won Best Screenplay.
The Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize went to prolific South Korean director Hang Sang-soo for his tale of a French teacher (Isabelle Huppert) navigating a new life, A Traveler's Needs.
Bruno Dumont's spoof that transports a Star Wars-style plot to the French countryside, The Empire, won a Silver Bear, while Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias' experimental hippo drama Pepe won the Best Director prize. Matthias Glasner's Dying, which dives into the heart of a family with an ailing matriarch and patriarch, won Best Screenplay.
- 2/24/2024
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Mati Diop’s documentary Dahomey, about artefacts being returned from Paris to present-day Benin, was awarded the Golden Bear for best film at the Berlin International Film Festival tonight (February 24).
The film, handled internationally by Les Film du Losange, is the second from the African continent to take the Berlinale’s top prize after Mark Dornford-May’s musical U-Carmen eKhayelitsha in 2005. It is also the second year in a row that a documentary has clinched the Golden Bear, following Nicolas Philibert’s On The Adamant last year.
In her speech, Diop said: “To restitute is to do justice. We can...
The film, handled internationally by Les Film du Losange, is the second from the African continent to take the Berlinale’s top prize after Mark Dornford-May’s musical U-Carmen eKhayelitsha in 2005. It is also the second year in a row that a documentary has clinched the Golden Bear, following Nicolas Philibert’s On The Adamant last year.
In her speech, Diop said: “To restitute is to do justice. We can...
- 2/24/2024
- ScreenDaily
Winners have been announced at the 74th Berlin Film Festival, with Dahomey by French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop scooping the coveted Golden Bear for best film. Scroll down for the full list of winners, which were revealed Saturday evening at the Berlinale Palast.
The doc borrows its name from the former West African kingdom of Dahomey, located in the south of today’s Republic of Benin. It was founded in the 17th century by King Houegbadja. Under his reign and that of his descendants — a three-century dynasty — the kingdom was a considerable regional power, with a highly structured local economy, a centralized administration, a system of taxes, and a powerful army, including the famous Amazon women (Agodjié).
Diop’s doc opens in November 2021 as twenty-six royal treasures from the former Kingdom are about to leave Paris to return to their country of origin. Along with thousands of others, these artifacts were...
The doc borrows its name from the former West African kingdom of Dahomey, located in the south of today’s Republic of Benin. It was founded in the 17th century by King Houegbadja. Under his reign and that of his descendants — a three-century dynasty — the kingdom was a considerable regional power, with a highly structured local economy, a centralized administration, a system of taxes, and a powerful army, including the famous Amazon women (Agodjié).
Diop’s doc opens in November 2021 as twenty-six royal treasures from the former Kingdom are about to leave Paris to return to their country of origin. Along with thousands of others, these artifacts were...
- 2/24/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
After two weeks of new cinema, the Berlin Film Festival comes to a close this Sunday, February 25, with its annual awards ceremony. This year’s event marks one of change, as festival artistic director Carlo Chatrian, at his post since 2018, steps down to make way for Tricia Tuttle, who will take over for next year’s outing.
This year’s Berlinale has already stirred plenty of buzz for films like Alonso Ruizpalacios’s “La Cocina,” a drama set in a New York City kitchen and starring Rooney Mara, and Tim Mielants’ opener “Small Things Like These,” starring likely Oscar winner Cillian Murphy. Both films are eligible for awards, along with “Timbuktu” director Abderrahmane Sissako’s “Black Tea,” “Goodnight Mommy” filmmakers Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala’s “The Devil’s Bath,” “The Guilty” director Gustav Möller’s “Sons,” Olivier Assayas’ “Suspended Time,” plus Aaron Schimberg’s Sundance hit “A Different Man,” and many more.
This year’s Berlinale has already stirred plenty of buzz for films like Alonso Ruizpalacios’s “La Cocina,” a drama set in a New York City kitchen and starring Rooney Mara, and Tim Mielants’ opener “Small Things Like These,” starring likely Oscar winner Cillian Murphy. Both films are eligible for awards, along with “Timbuktu” director Abderrahmane Sissako’s “Black Tea,” “Goodnight Mommy” filmmakers Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala’s “The Devil’s Bath,” “The Guilty” director Gustav Möller’s “Sons,” Olivier Assayas’ “Suspended Time,” plus Aaron Schimberg’s Sundance hit “A Different Man,” and many more.
- 2/24/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Dahomey, a documentary from French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop, has won the Golden Bear for best film at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival.
The multifaceted docu-fictional essay explores the return, in November 2021, of plundered royal treasures of the African Kingdom of Dahomey from Paris to the present-day Republic of Benin, examining the complicated response of those in Benin, whose culture has developed for more than a century without these artifacts.
While taking the stage to accept her award, Diop made a direct political statement, calling out, “I stand with Palestine!”
Jury president, the Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave and Black Panther actor Lupita Nyong’o, announced the Golden Bear winner from the stage of the Berlinale Palast Saturday night. Nyong’o is the first Black and first African to chair the Berlinale jury.
Dahomey is only the second African film to win the top prize at Berlin, following Mark Dornford-May’s...
The multifaceted docu-fictional essay explores the return, in November 2021, of plundered royal treasures of the African Kingdom of Dahomey from Paris to the present-day Republic of Benin, examining the complicated response of those in Benin, whose culture has developed for more than a century without these artifacts.
While taking the stage to accept her award, Diop made a direct political statement, calling out, “I stand with Palestine!”
Jury president, the Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave and Black Panther actor Lupita Nyong’o, announced the Golden Bear winner from the stage of the Berlinale Palast Saturday night. Nyong’o is the first Black and first African to chair the Berlinale jury.
Dahomey is only the second African film to win the top prize at Berlin, following Mark Dornford-May’s...
- 2/24/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The independent juries of the 74th Berlin International Film Festival early Saturday unveiled their picks of the best movies at the 2024 Berlinale.
Matthias Glasner’s German family epic Sterben (Dying), and the Iranian feature My Favourite Cake from directors Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, both of which are considered frontrunners for the top prize at the official festival ceremony on Saturday night, received multiple awards for the indie juries, as did Dag Johan Haugerud’s Norwegian drama Sex, a critical favorite from this year’s Panorama sidebar.
Sterben, which follows a classical conductor (played by Lars Eidinger) and his very dysfunctional family, won the best film honor from the guild of German arthouse cinemas and the top prize awarded by the jury of Berliner Morgenpost readers representing the Berlin newspaper.
My Favourite Cake, a quiet drama about a 70-year-old widow who takes a chance on new love, won the Fipresci...
Matthias Glasner’s German family epic Sterben (Dying), and the Iranian feature My Favourite Cake from directors Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, both of which are considered frontrunners for the top prize at the official festival ceremony on Saturday night, received multiple awards for the indie juries, as did Dag Johan Haugerud’s Norwegian drama Sex, a critical favorite from this year’s Panorama sidebar.
Sterben, which follows a classical conductor (played by Lars Eidinger) and his very dysfunctional family, won the best film honor from the guild of German arthouse cinemas and the top prize awarded by the jury of Berliner Morgenpost readers representing the Berlin newspaper.
My Favourite Cake, a quiet drama about a 70-year-old widow who takes a chance on new love, won the Fipresci...
- 2/24/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Berlin Film Festival kicked off its 74th edition February 15 with the opening-night world premiere screening of Small Things Like These, the Irish drama starring Oscar-nominated Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy. It started 10 days of debuts including for movies starring Rooney Mara, Isabelle Huppert, Gael García Bernal, Kristen Stewart and more.
This year’s Competition lineup features films from a swath of international filmmakers including Olivier Assayas, Mati Diop, Hong Sangsoo, Bruno Dumont and Abderrahmane Sissako.
The Berlinale runs through February 25.
Keep checking back below as Deadline reviews the best and buzziest movies of the festival. Click on the titles to read the full reviews.
Another End ‘Another End’
Section: Competition
Director: Piero Messina
Cast: Gael García Bernal, Renate Reinsve, Bérénice Bejo, Olivia Williams, Pal Aron
Deadline’s takeaway: The script, while ambitious, is laden with philosophical musings that often feel detached from the emotional core of the story. Another End...
This year’s Competition lineup features films from a swath of international filmmakers including Olivier Assayas, Mati Diop, Hong Sangsoo, Bruno Dumont and Abderrahmane Sissako.
The Berlinale runs through February 25.
Keep checking back below as Deadline reviews the best and buzziest movies of the festival. Click on the titles to read the full reviews.
Another End ‘Another End’
Section: Competition
Director: Piero Messina
Cast: Gael García Bernal, Renate Reinsve, Bérénice Bejo, Olivia Williams, Pal Aron
Deadline’s takeaway: The script, while ambitious, is laden with philosophical musings that often feel detached from the emotional core of the story. Another End...
- 2/24/2024
- by Stephanie Bunbury, Damon Wise, Pete Hammond and Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
The awards ceremony for the 74th Berlin International Film Festival kicks off Saturday night, where this year’s jury, headed by 12 Years a Slave and Black Panther actress Lupita Nyong’o, will hand out the coveted Gold and Silver Bears.
Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha’s Iranian drama My Favourite Cake is being given good odds for an award this year. The drama, about a 70-year-old widow and her tentative attempts at romance with an age-appropriate taxi driver, was a critical fave. A win for the film would also send a political message after the Iranian government banned the directors from attending Berlin. If the jury picks out Cake for the Golden Bear it would be the third time in 10 years —following Jafar Panahi’s Taxi (2015) and There Is No Evil (2020) from Mohammad Rasoulof —that Berlin has given its top honor to Iranian directors in absentia. World sales for My...
Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha’s Iranian drama My Favourite Cake is being given good odds for an award this year. The drama, about a 70-year-old widow and her tentative attempts at romance with an age-appropriate taxi driver, was a critical fave. A win for the film would also send a political message after the Iranian government banned the directors from attending Berlin. If the jury picks out Cake for the Golden Bear it would be the third time in 10 years —following Jafar Panahi’s Taxi (2015) and There Is No Evil (2020) from Mohammad Rasoulof —that Berlin has given its top honor to Iranian directors in absentia. World sales for My...
- 2/23/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hong Sangsoo’s A Traveler’s Needs and Mati Diop’s Dahomey earned strong average scores on Screen’s Berlin jury grid, while Bruno Dumont’s The Empire divided critics.
A Traveler’s Needs stars Isabelle Huppert as a French woman teaching in Korea and is currently on an average of 2.9, with one score still to come (from Paolo Bertolin from cinematografo.it). Screen’s own critic awarded it four stars (excellent), while three critics gave it three stars (good) and three gave it two (average).
Click on the jury grid above for the most up-to-date version.
The score is currently slighter...
A Traveler’s Needs stars Isabelle Huppert as a French woman teaching in Korea and is currently on an average of 2.9, with one score still to come (from Paolo Bertolin from cinematografo.it). Screen’s own critic awarded it four stars (excellent), while three critics gave it three stars (good) and three gave it two (average).
Click on the jury grid above for the most up-to-date version.
The score is currently slighter...
- 2/20/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Berlin Film Festival hosted the 10 young European actors selected for the Shooting Stars program, run by European Film Promotion, at a gala event Monday.
The presentation of the Shooting Stars took place prior to the screening of Claire Burger’s “Langue Étrangère,” which plays in competition.
They were welcomed on stage at the Berlinale Palast by German actor Corinna Harfouch, who stars in the competition entry “Dying,” directed by Matthias Glasner.
The ceremony, hosted by Jenny Augusta, is the festive highlight and the closing event of the four-day program, where the talented young actors meet up with casting directors and are presented to the international press.
The Shooting Stars are Thibaud Dooms from Belgium, Margarita Stoykova from Bulgaria, Suzy Bemba from France, Salome Demuria from Georgia, Katharina Stark from Germany, Éanna Hardwicke from Ireland, Valentina Bellè from Italy, Džiugas Grinys from Lithuania, Kamila Urzędowska from Poland and Asta Kamma August from Sweden.
The presentation of the Shooting Stars took place prior to the screening of Claire Burger’s “Langue Étrangère,” which plays in competition.
They were welcomed on stage at the Berlinale Palast by German actor Corinna Harfouch, who stars in the competition entry “Dying,” directed by Matthias Glasner.
The ceremony, hosted by Jenny Augusta, is the festive highlight and the closing event of the four-day program, where the talented young actors meet up with casting directors and are presented to the international press.
The Shooting Stars are Thibaud Dooms from Belgium, Margarita Stoykova from Bulgaria, Suzy Bemba from France, Salome Demuria from Georgia, Katharina Stark from Germany, Éanna Hardwicke from Ireland, Valentina Bellè from Italy, Džiugas Grinys from Lithuania, Kamila Urzędowska from Poland and Asta Kamma August from Sweden.
- 2/19/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Lissy (Corinna Harfouch) is huddled on the floor in her nightgown, trying to ring her son. Her legs and nightgown are smeared brown with her regular nightly incontinence, but it is her husband who worries her: Gerd (Hans-Uwe Bauer) has wandered outside again, not sure where he is and wearing no pants. Her neighbor is at the door, insisting on being helpful, while Lissy just wants her to cut short this humiliation; has she spotted that even the phone is now daubed with excrement?
Old age ain’t no place for sissies, as Bette Davis famously said. The usual riposte is that it’s better than the alternative, but Matthias Glasner’s long, absorbing and intermittently very funny film calls that into question. Life, even before the debilities of age become its main feature, is the real difficulty.
Glasner’s story is a version of a traditional family saga, but...
Old age ain’t no place for sissies, as Bette Davis famously said. The usual riposte is that it’s better than the alternative, but Matthias Glasner’s long, absorbing and intermittently very funny film calls that into question. Life, even before the debilities of age become its main feature, is the real difficulty.
Glasner’s story is a version of a traditional family saga, but...
- 2/19/2024
- by Stephanie Bunbury
- Deadline Film + TV
Family Matters: Glasner’s Sprawling Portrait of Chaotic Dysfunction
Exemplifying Tolstoy’s famous Anna Karenina quote on ‘every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,’ German filmmaker Matthias Glasner makes his first narrative feature in over a decade with the cryptically titled Dying. At three hours running time split up into chapters, it’s something of an intimidating saga of the fluctuating unhappiness of one German family long estranged from one another. With an iciness akin to Bergman (whose Fanny & Alexander is referenced to assist in Glasner’s rather morbid Christmas spirit), two unhappy siblings, who are unhappy in their own way, are forced to begrudgingly interact as their equally detached parents’ health declines over the course of a year.…...
Exemplifying Tolstoy’s famous Anna Karenina quote on ‘every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,’ German filmmaker Matthias Glasner makes his first narrative feature in over a decade with the cryptically titled Dying. At three hours running time split up into chapters, it’s something of an intimidating saga of the fluctuating unhappiness of one German family long estranged from one another. With an iciness akin to Bergman (whose Fanny & Alexander is referenced to assist in Glasner’s rather morbid Christmas spirit), two unhappy siblings, who are unhappy in their own way, are forced to begrudgingly interact as their equally detached parents’ health declines over the course of a year.…...
- 2/19/2024
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Unabashedly sporting the most inauspicious of titles, a three-hour running time and a logline that features terminally ill elders and self-destructive descendants, German feature Dying (Sterben) looks like a hard sell on paper. And yet writer-director Matthias Glasner’s crisscrossing family drama manages to be exceedingly funny, often in some of its darkest moments, as well as expectedly sad.
Anchored by a nuanced, detailed performance by Lars Eidinger as Tom, an orchestra conductor juggling all manner of personal and professional commitments, and pitch-perfect turns by Corinna Harfouch, Lilith Stangenberg and Ronald Zehrfeld as the rest of his combustible nuclear family, this richly rewards the time investment it requires. Sure, a few trims here and there wouldn’t have necessarily ruined it, and some might suggest this could work better as a multi-part limited series for upscale TV.
But it’s hard to imagine watching the musical performance set pieces anywhere...
Anchored by a nuanced, detailed performance by Lars Eidinger as Tom, an orchestra conductor juggling all manner of personal and professional commitments, and pitch-perfect turns by Corinna Harfouch, Lilith Stangenberg and Ronald Zehrfeld as the rest of his combustible nuclear family, this richly rewards the time investment it requires. Sure, a few trims here and there wouldn’t have necessarily ruined it, and some might suggest this could work better as a multi-part limited series for upscale TV.
But it’s hard to imagine watching the musical performance set pieces anywhere...
- 2/19/2024
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Kirsten Niehuus, head of German film fund Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, is confident that the changes to film funding proposed by the German government recently will have a “very positive effect on the production scene in Berlin-Brandenburg.”
The proposed changes to the funding system were presented last week to German lawmakers in the Bundestag by commissioner for culture and media Claudia Roth (see here).
Kirsten Niehuus, Martin Moszkowicz
Speaking to Variety Saturday at a party Medienboard hosted at Berlin’s Holzmarkt, Niehuus said the changes “will mean that we would have a tax system in place that could compete, for instance, with Budapest or Prague, so that not so many German productions would go and shoot somewhere else, and more foreign productions would come and shoot in Germany.”
Looking at the media landscape across Germany she notes that one major challenge is the decision by high-end outlets such as Paramount+, HBO and Sky to cancel local productions,...
The proposed changes to the funding system were presented last week to German lawmakers in the Bundestag by commissioner for culture and media Claudia Roth (see here).
Kirsten Niehuus, Martin Moszkowicz
Speaking to Variety Saturday at a party Medienboard hosted at Berlin’s Holzmarkt, Niehuus said the changes “will mean that we would have a tax system in place that could compete, for instance, with Budapest or Prague, so that not so many German productions would go and shoot somewhere else, and more foreign productions would come and shoot in Germany.”
Looking at the media landscape across Germany she notes that one major challenge is the decision by high-end outlets such as Paramount+, HBO and Sky to cancel local productions,...
- 2/19/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
An unsung master of movie magic, Solon Luigi Colani has worked on some of the biggest Hollywood movies ever shot in Germany and beyond, among them works by Quentin Tarantino, Ron Howard, George Clooney, Denis Villeneuve, Paul W.S. Anderson, Gore Verbinski and the Wachowskis.
His enormous range of practical visual effects have also become regular fixtures in Germany’s domestic film and TV industry, where he has helped filmmakers and showrunners bring their visions to life.
In Matthias Glasner’s current Berlinale Competition screener “Dying,” for example, he created a pneumatic pump, hose system and the necessary chunky liquid for a dramatic scene in which a character falls ill at the Berlin Philharmonic concert hall.
Colani established his Berlin-based company Pyro Labs in the 1990s as a side business while working as a young It specialist. Initially focused on firework displays for weddings, birthday parties and other live events, the...
His enormous range of practical visual effects have also become regular fixtures in Germany’s domestic film and TV industry, where he has helped filmmakers and showrunners bring their visions to life.
In Matthias Glasner’s current Berlinale Competition screener “Dying,” for example, he created a pneumatic pump, hose system and the necessary chunky liquid for a dramatic scene in which a character falls ill at the Berlin Philharmonic concert hall.
Colani established his Berlin-based company Pyro Labs in the 1990s as a side business while working as a young It specialist. Initially focused on firework displays for weddings, birthday parties and other live events, the...
- 2/18/2024
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Lars Eidinger plays the man embarking on a major orchestral project, but whose professional status is threatened by family turmoil behind the scenes
Matthias Glasner’s epic is a black comedy of Franzenesque family dysfunction; maybe not profound exactly but terrifically watchable and entertaining. It is about the time-honoured subject of what we inherit from our parents and what is gained and lost by rejecting that inheritance. The film features that always formidable German actor Lars Eidinger as an orchestra conductor - and it will be no surprise that when he takes to the podium at the Berlin Philharmonic, it is the scene of the biggest and most embarrassing fiasco since Cate Blanchett’s fierce creation Lydia Tár had her own meltdown on the exact same spot two years ago.
Eidinger plays Tom, an emotionally withdrawn figure about to embark on the most serious project of his career. It is a performance of Sterben,...
Matthias Glasner’s epic is a black comedy of Franzenesque family dysfunction; maybe not profound exactly but terrifically watchable and entertaining. It is about the time-honoured subject of what we inherit from our parents and what is gained and lost by rejecting that inheritance. The film features that always formidable German actor Lars Eidinger as an orchestra conductor - and it will be no surprise that when he takes to the podium at the Berlin Philharmonic, it is the scene of the biggest and most embarrassing fiasco since Cate Blanchett’s fierce creation Lydia Tár had her own meltdown on the exact same spot two years ago.
Eidinger plays Tom, an emotionally withdrawn figure about to embark on the most serious project of his career. It is a performance of Sterben,...
- 2/18/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Over three hours and five different chapters, Matthias Glasner’s “Dying” chronicles the travails of an estranged family of four: an elderly couple on the brink of death, their successful composer son and their alcoholic, ne’er-do-well daughter. The film casts a wide net over their experiences, and every leading performance is as impeccable as the last. However, Glasner’s formal rigidity prevents their stories from feeling intrinsically bound, leaving each of them with little to say.
The film opens in the German countryside with elderly couple Lissy (Corinna Harfouch) and Gerd Lunies (Hans-Uwe Bauer) being found helpless by a neighbor. Lissy’s litany of ailments render her only semi-mobile, and she often ends the day by soiling herself, while Gerd’s dementia leads him to wander naked into people’s homes. They can’t help each other, and their adult children are too preoccupied with their own metropolitan lives to get involved.
The film opens in the German countryside with elderly couple Lissy (Corinna Harfouch) and Gerd Lunies (Hans-Uwe Bauer) being found helpless by a neighbor. Lissy’s litany of ailments render her only semi-mobile, and she often ends the day by soiling herself, while Gerd’s dementia leads him to wander naked into people’s homes. They can’t help each other, and their adult children are too preoccupied with their own metropolitan lives to get involved.
- 2/18/2024
- by Siddhant Adlakha
- Variety Film + TV
Iranian tragicomedy My Favourite Cake has taken the early lead on Screen international’ s 2024 Berlin competition jury grid, with scores for seven titles now in.
The latest from Iranian duo Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha follows a 70-year-old woman who breaks out of her solitary routine by trying to invigorate her love life. It scored a strong 3.1 average, including three fours (excellent) from Ahmed Shawkey (Egypt’s filfan.com), Rita Di Santo (UK’s Morning Star) and Screen’s own critic.
Click on the jury grid above for the most up-to-date version.
Currently in joint second on the grid with...
The latest from Iranian duo Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha follows a 70-year-old woman who breaks out of her solitary routine by trying to invigorate her love life. It scored a strong 3.1 average, including three fours (excellent) from Ahmed Shawkey (Egypt’s filfan.com), Rita Di Santo (UK’s Morning Star) and Screen’s own critic.
Click on the jury grid above for the most up-to-date version.
Currently in joint second on the grid with...
- 2/18/2024
- ScreenDaily
Ready for another deliciously outré performance from Lars Eidinger, everybody’s favorite German arthouse weirdo (known for his work in Personal Shopper, Clouds of Sils Maria, White Noise, and on and on)? Well, strap in for Sterben (Dying) from German director Matthias Glasner.
In the exclusive first trailer from The Match Factory (see below), Eidinger plays Tom, a Berlin conductor with more than a few personal issues to deal with.
Dying is a rare new feature from Glasner who, unlike his prolific star, has kept his filmography tight. (His last feature was 2012’s Gnade.) Judging by the trailer, and Glasner’s previous work, including 2006 Silver Bear winner The Free Will, Dying looks like another powerful mix of melodrama, wry humor and philosophical ponderings about the “big questions” of life and, given the title, of death.
“The name of the piece… is ‘Dying’,” a high-strung composer, played by Robert Gwisdek, instructs the orchestra.
In the exclusive first trailer from The Match Factory (see below), Eidinger plays Tom, a Berlin conductor with more than a few personal issues to deal with.
Dying is a rare new feature from Glasner who, unlike his prolific star, has kept his filmography tight. (His last feature was 2012’s Gnade.) Judging by the trailer, and Glasner’s previous work, including 2006 Silver Bear winner The Free Will, Dying looks like another powerful mix of melodrama, wry humor and philosophical ponderings about the “big questions” of life and, given the title, of death.
“The name of the piece… is ‘Dying’,” a high-strung composer, played by Robert Gwisdek, instructs the orchestra.
- 2/17/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Beta Cinema will start selling The Light, Tom Tykwer’s return to the big screen after seven years, at the upcoming European Film Market and has released a first look image of the film.
Beta Cinema is handling sales for all territories except German-speaking territories, France and North America.
Set in present day in Berlin, The Light is billed as a portrait of a modern family between collapse and new beginnings.
It stars Lars Eidinger, who will next been seen be in Matthias Glasner’s Berlinale competiton entry Dying, actress/director Nicolette Krebitz from Aieou and Wild, alongside Elke Biesendorfer,...
Beta Cinema is handling sales for all territories except German-speaking territories, France and North America.
Set in present day in Berlin, The Light is billed as a portrait of a modern family between collapse and new beginnings.
It stars Lars Eidinger, who will next been seen be in Matthias Glasner’s Berlinale competiton entry Dying, actress/director Nicolette Krebitz from Aieou and Wild, alongside Elke Biesendorfer,...
- 2/1/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Match Factory has acquired international rights to Russian director Victor Kossakovsky’s new documentary Architecton ahead of its Berlinale world premiere.
The film project follows the filmmaker’s farmyard doc Gunda, which played in Berlinale Encounters in 2020, and Aquerala, which world premiered Out of Competition In Venice in 2018.
The Match Factory describes Kossakovsky’s new film as “an epic, intimate and poetic meditation” on architecture and how the design and construction of buildings from the ancient past reveal mankind’s present destruction.
Focusing on a landscape project by the Italian architect Michele de Lucci, Kossakovsky reflects on the rise and fall of civilizations, using imagery from the temple ruins of Baalbek in Lebanon, dating back to Ad 60, to the recent destruction of cities in Turkey following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in early 2023.
“Victor Kossakosvsky possesses the remarkable ability to amplify seldom-heard voices on the screen. Demonstrating his mastery in previous works like Gunda and Aquarela,...
The film project follows the filmmaker’s farmyard doc Gunda, which played in Berlinale Encounters in 2020, and Aquerala, which world premiered Out of Competition In Venice in 2018.
The Match Factory describes Kossakovsky’s new film as “an epic, intimate and poetic meditation” on architecture and how the design and construction of buildings from the ancient past reveal mankind’s present destruction.
Focusing on a landscape project by the Italian architect Michele de Lucci, Kossakovsky reflects on the rise and fall of civilizations, using imagery from the temple ruins of Baalbek in Lebanon, dating back to Ad 60, to the recent destruction of cities in Turkey following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in early 2023.
“Victor Kossakosvsky possesses the remarkable ability to amplify seldom-heard voices on the screen. Demonstrating his mastery in previous works like Gunda and Aquarela,...
- 1/31/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The Match Factory has acquired the international rights to the Russian director Victor Kossakovsky’s documentary “Architecton,” which world premieres in the competition section of the Berlinale. A24 financed the film and will distribute it in North America.
“Architecton” follows Kossakovsky’s highly acclaimed “Gunda,” which played in Berlinale Encounters in 2020, and “Aquarela,” which screened in Venice’s out of competition section in 2018.
“Architecton” is described as “an epic, intimate and poetic meditation on architecture and how the design and construction of buildings from the ancient past reveal our destruction — and offer hope for survival and a way forward.”
The film centers on a landscape project by the Italian architect Michele de Lucci, which Kossakovsky uses to reflect on the rise and fall of civilizations. He captures breathtaking imagery from the temple ruins of Baalbek in Lebanon, dating back to 60 Ad, to the recent destruction of cities in Turkey following...
“Architecton” follows Kossakovsky’s highly acclaimed “Gunda,” which played in Berlinale Encounters in 2020, and “Aquarela,” which screened in Venice’s out of competition section in 2018.
“Architecton” is described as “an epic, intimate and poetic meditation on architecture and how the design and construction of buildings from the ancient past reveal our destruction — and offer hope for survival and a way forward.”
The film centers on a landscape project by the Italian architect Michele de Lucci, which Kossakovsky uses to reflect on the rise and fall of civilizations. He captures breathtaking imagery from the temple ruins of Baalbek in Lebanon, dating back to 60 Ad, to the recent destruction of cities in Turkey following...
- 1/31/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The Match Factory has acquired international sales rights to Russian director Victor Kossakovsky’s documentary Architecton which world premieres next month in the Berlinale’s Competition section
Architecton is billed as a meditation on architecture and how the design and the construction of buildings from the ancient past reveal our destruction — and offer hope for survival and a way forward.
Kossakovsky’s previous films include 2020 Berlinale Encounters title Gunda and Aquarela, which played out of competition at Venice in 2018.
Architecton is produced by Heino Deckert for Germany’s Ma.ja.de. A24 financed and will distribute the film in North America.
Architecton is billed as a meditation on architecture and how the design and the construction of buildings from the ancient past reveal our destruction — and offer hope for survival and a way forward.
Kossakovsky’s previous films include 2020 Berlinale Encounters title Gunda and Aquarela, which played out of competition at Venice in 2018.
Architecton is produced by Heino Deckert for Germany’s Ma.ja.de. A24 financed and will distribute the film in North America.
- 1/31/2024
- ScreenDaily
A Different Man.The Berlinale have begun to announce the first few titles selected for the 74th edition of their festival, set to take place from February 15 through 21, 2024. This page will be updated as further sections are announced.COMPETITIONAnother End (Piero Messina)Architecton (Victor Kossakovsky)Black Tea (Abderrahmane Sissako)La Cocina (Alonso Ruiz Palacios) Dahomey (Mati Diop)A Different Man (Aaron Schimberg)The Empire (Bruno Dumont)Gloria! (Margherita Vicario)Suspended Time (Olivier Assayas)From Hilde, With Love (Andreas Dresen)My Favourite CakeLangue Etrangère (Claire Berger)Small Things Like These (Tim Mielants)Who Do I Belong To (Meryam Joobeur)Pepe (Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias)Shambhala (Min Bahadur Bham)Sterben (Matthias Glasner)Small Things Like These (Tim Mielants)A Traveler’s Needs (Hong Sang-soo)Sleep With Your Eyes Open. ENCOUNTERSArcadia (Yorgos Zois)Cidade; Campo (Juliana Rojas)Demba (Mamadou Dia)Direct ActionSleep With Your Eyes Open (Nele Wohlatz)The Fable (Raam Reddy...
- 1/23/2024
- MUBI
Berlinale co-directors Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek are going out with a bang in their final year, with a lineup unveiled today featuring the latest works by Olivier Assayas, Bruno Dumont, Mati Diop, Hong Sang-soo, Abderrahmane Sissako, Jane Schoenbrun, Alonso Ruizpalacios, Matias Pineiro, Travis Wilkerson, Kazik Radwanski, Annie Baker, and more.
When the co-directors were asked by Screen Daily about their departure, Chatrian said, “It’s quite simple. Mariette and I had a mandate of five years. It is true that at the beginning I said that I was willing to go on because there was a shared will with the [German] Ministry [of Culture] to go on. But then the people who have the responsibility to see the future of the Berlinale thought this structure of two leaders was not the right one and I don’t consider myself able to run the festival alone. And that was the decision of the Ministry.
When the co-directors were asked by Screen Daily about their departure, Chatrian said, “It’s quite simple. Mariette and I had a mandate of five years. It is true that at the beginning I said that I was willing to go on because there was a shared will with the [German] Ministry [of Culture] to go on. But then the people who have the responsibility to see the future of the Berlinale thought this structure of two leaders was not the right one and I don’t consider myself able to run the festival alone. And that was the decision of the Ministry.
- 1/22/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
China-based sales agent Rediance has boarded Nele Wohlatz’s Sleep With Your Eyes Open and Huang Shuli’s short Goodbye First Love, ahead of their premieres at the Berlinale next month.
Sleep With Your Eyes Open will play in the festival’s competitive Encounters section, which was announced today. The comedy is set in a coastal city in Brazil over one hot summer, during which bonds grow between a heartbroken traveller from Taiwan, a man who runs an umbrella store and a woman who used to live in the city.
The cast combines newcomers with professional actors, including Wang Shin-Hong...
Sleep With Your Eyes Open will play in the festival’s competitive Encounters section, which was announced today. The comedy is set in a coastal city in Brazil over one hot summer, during which bonds grow between a heartbroken traveller from Taiwan, a man who runs an umbrella store and a woman who used to live in the city.
The cast combines newcomers with professional actors, including Wang Shin-Hong...
- 1/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Match Factory has secured the rights for Berlinale Competition title “Dying,” by German director Matthias Glasner. Wild Bunch will be distributing the film in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland.
Glasner credits include Golden Bear nominees “Gnade” (2012) and “Der Freie Wille” (2006).
The ensemble cast is led by Lars Eidinger, and also includes Corinna Harfouch, Lilith Stangenberg and Ronald Zehrfeld.
“Dying” follows the very individual members of the Lunies family, who haven’t been a family for a long time. Lissy (Harfouch) is quietly happy about her demented husband Gerd (Hans-Uwe Bauer) slowly wasting away in a home. But her new freedom is short-lived: Diabetes, cancer and kidney failure mean that she doesn’t have much time left either.
Son Tom (Eidinger), a conductor in his early 40s, is working on a composition called “Dying,” while at the same time being made the surrogate father of his ex-girlfriend’s child. Tom...
Glasner credits include Golden Bear nominees “Gnade” (2012) and “Der Freie Wille” (2006).
The ensemble cast is led by Lars Eidinger, and also includes Corinna Harfouch, Lilith Stangenberg and Ronald Zehrfeld.
“Dying” follows the very individual members of the Lunies family, who haven’t been a family for a long time. Lissy (Harfouch) is quietly happy about her demented husband Gerd (Hans-Uwe Bauer) slowly wasting away in a home. But her new freedom is short-lived: Diabetes, cancer and kidney failure mean that she doesn’t have much time left either.
Son Tom (Eidinger), a conductor in his early 40s, is working on a composition called “Dying,” while at the same time being made the surrogate father of his ex-girlfriend’s child. Tom...
- 1/22/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The Match Factory has acquired world sales rights to Berlinale Golden Bear contender Dying by German director Matthias Glasner.
It is one of 20 films set to play in the Berlinale’s main Competition which was announced on Monday alongside the festival’s Encounters sidebar.
Glasner was previously in Competition at the Berlinale with Gnade and Der Freie Will in 2012 and 2006 respectively. More recent credits include directing episodes of Das Boot and TV movie Redemption Road.
German star Lars Eidinger co-leads the family drama following the very individual members of the dysfunctional Lunies family.
Corinna Harfouch co-stars at the mother who is quietly happy about her demented husband, played by Hans-Uwe Bauer, slowly wasting away in a home, until her new freedom looks set to be cut short by diabetes, cancer and kidney failure.
Eidinger plays a conductor in his...
It is one of 20 films set to play in the Berlinale’s main Competition which was announced on Monday alongside the festival’s Encounters sidebar.
Glasner was previously in Competition at the Berlinale with Gnade and Der Freie Will in 2012 and 2006 respectively. More recent credits include directing episodes of Das Boot and TV movie Redemption Road.
German star Lars Eidinger co-leads the family drama following the very individual members of the dysfunctional Lunies family.
Corinna Harfouch co-stars at the mother who is quietly happy about her demented husband, played by Hans-Uwe Bauer, slowly wasting away in a home, until her new freedom looks set to be cut short by diabetes, cancer and kidney failure.
Eidinger plays a conductor in his...
- 1/22/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The Match Factory has secured the rights for Berlinale Competition title Dying by German director Matthias Glasner.
Glasner’s previous films Gnade (2012) and Der Frei Wille (2006) played in competition at the Berlinale.
Dying’s ensemble cast includes Lars Eidinger, whose credits include All The Light We Cannot See and Irma Vep, and Corinna Harfouch, Lilith Stangenberg and Ronald Zehrfeld.
It follows the Lunies family, who are forced to meet following a long estrangment. Hans-Uwe Bauer plays the father, living in a care home; Harfouch is the mother, living with diabetes, cancer and kidney failure. Their son played by Lars Eidinger,...
Glasner’s previous films Gnade (2012) and Der Frei Wille (2006) played in competition at the Berlinale.
Dying’s ensemble cast includes Lars Eidinger, whose credits include All The Light We Cannot See and Irma Vep, and Corinna Harfouch, Lilith Stangenberg and Ronald Zehrfeld.
It follows the Lunies family, who are forced to meet following a long estrangment. Hans-Uwe Bauer plays the father, living in a care home; Harfouch is the mother, living with diabetes, cancer and kidney failure. Their son played by Lars Eidinger,...
- 1/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
The 74th Berlin International Film Festival has revealed the 20 titles selected for its official Competition as well as its competitive Encounters strand.
Scroll down for full list
New films from Claire Burger, Olivier Assayas, Hong Sangsoo, Bruno Dumont, Abderrahmane Sissako and Mati Diop are among those selected for the Competition lineup, with stars including Rooney Mara, Gael Garcia Bernal, Sebastian Stan and Cillian Murphy, who leads the festival’s opening film Small Things Like These.
Festival heads Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek unveiled the selections at the House of World Cultures in Berlin today (January 22).
The 2024 Berlinale will run February...
Scroll down for full list
New films from Claire Burger, Olivier Assayas, Hong Sangsoo, Bruno Dumont, Abderrahmane Sissako and Mati Diop are among those selected for the Competition lineup, with stars including Rooney Mara, Gael Garcia Bernal, Sebastian Stan and Cillian Murphy, who leads the festival’s opening film Small Things Like These.
Festival heads Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek unveiled the selections at the House of World Cultures in Berlin today (January 22).
The 2024 Berlinale will run February...
- 1/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled a promising competition lineup for its upcoming edition, peppered with prestige star-driven titles such as the New York-set “La Cocina” with Rooney Mara, sci-fi drama “Another End” pairing Gael García Bernal and Renate Reinsve and its opening film “Small Things Like These” starring “Oppenheimer” protagonist Cillian Murphy.
As is customary, political elements play a prominent role. But the complete Berlinale roster revealed on Monday by artistic director Carlo Chatrian and executive director Mariëtte Rissenbeek – following previous announcements in past weeks – makes for the fest’s strongest selection in recent memory in terms of heft and ensures a rich red carpet following the Hollywood strikes hiatus.
Rissenbeek and Chatrain started the press conference with a statement on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. “Festivals provide a space for artistic expression and enable peaceful dialogue. They are places of encounter and exchange and contribute to international understanding.
As is customary, political elements play a prominent role. But the complete Berlinale roster revealed on Monday by artistic director Carlo Chatrian and executive director Mariëtte Rissenbeek – following previous announcements in past weeks – makes for the fest’s strongest selection in recent memory in terms of heft and ensures a rich red carpet following the Hollywood strikes hiatus.
Rissenbeek and Chatrain started the press conference with a statement on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. “Festivals provide a space for artistic expression and enable peaceful dialogue. They are places of encounter and exchange and contribute to international understanding.
- 1/22/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli and Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
BBC drama “Informer,” which originally starred Paddy Considine, Bel Powley and Nabhaan Rizwan, is getting a German adaptation.
Production has begun in Hamburg, Germany, on “Informant,” an adaptation of the All3Media International scripted format, which was BAFTA-nominated. The BBC One show was executive produced by Sam Mendes, who produced via his production outfit Neal Street Productions.
The six-part German thriller is being produced by filmpool fiction (part of All3Media Deutschland) for Ndr, Ard Degeto, Arte and Nrk (Norway). The show is expected to debut in fall 2024.
Starring Jürgen Vogel (“Trust Me”), Elisa Schlott (“Das Boot”) and Ivar Wafaei (“Rheingold”), “Informant” tells the story of how the ‘war on terror’ and indications of an attack on the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg plunges people into a maelstrom of fear, prejudice and hysteria.
The cast also includes Gabriela Maria Schmeide, Bayan Layla, Claudia Michelsen, Sabrina Ceesay, Nico Holonics, Ali Reza Ahmadi and Majid Bakhtiari.
Production has begun in Hamburg, Germany, on “Informant,” an adaptation of the All3Media International scripted format, which was BAFTA-nominated. The BBC One show was executive produced by Sam Mendes, who produced via his production outfit Neal Street Productions.
The six-part German thriller is being produced by filmpool fiction (part of All3Media Deutschland) for Ndr, Ard Degeto, Arte and Nrk (Norway). The show is expected to debut in fall 2024.
Starring Jürgen Vogel (“Trust Me”), Elisa Schlott (“Das Boot”) and Ivar Wafaei (“Rheingold”), “Informant” tells the story of how the ‘war on terror’ and indications of an attack on the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg plunges people into a maelstrom of fear, prejudice and hysteria.
The cast also includes Gabriela Maria Schmeide, Bayan Layla, Claudia Michelsen, Sabrina Ceesay, Nico Holonics, Ali Reza Ahmadi and Majid Bakhtiari.
- 6/22/2023
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
The German-based distribution and production company Port au Prince Film And Kultur Produktion has hired Roshanak “Rosh” Khodabakhsh as a producer and executive board member.
Khodabakhsh will start the role on March 1. One of her tasks will be to further expand and lead the company’s Berlin branch.
Khodabakhsh mostly recently spent three years at the German distributor-producer Dcm, where she was a producer. Prior to Dcm, Khodabakhsh spent six years as a freelance production coordinator and production manager on projects such as Netflix’s Sense8, UFA’s Charité, and the X Filme series Babylon Berlin. She has also worked with directors such as Tom Tykwer, Sönke Wortmann, Fatih Akin (The Golden Glove), Jan Schomburg (Divine), and Ilya Khrzhanovsky (Dau).
Port Au Prince Producer and Managing Director Jan Krüger previously collaborated with Khodabakhsh in 2009 on Ali Samadi-Ahadi’s Grimme Award-winning doc The Green Wave.
“I would like to thank Marc Schmidheiny,...
Khodabakhsh will start the role on March 1. One of her tasks will be to further expand and lead the company’s Berlin branch.
Khodabakhsh mostly recently spent three years at the German distributor-producer Dcm, where she was a producer. Prior to Dcm, Khodabakhsh spent six years as a freelance production coordinator and production manager on projects such as Netflix’s Sense8, UFA’s Charité, and the X Filme series Babylon Berlin. She has also worked with directors such as Tom Tykwer, Sönke Wortmann, Fatih Akin (The Golden Glove), Jan Schomburg (Divine), and Ilya Khrzhanovsky (Dau).
Port Au Prince Producer and Managing Director Jan Krüger previously collaborated with Khodabakhsh in 2009 on Ali Samadi-Ahadi’s Grimme Award-winning doc The Green Wave.
“I would like to thank Marc Schmidheiny,...
- 2/15/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
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